Celtic were far from inspiring on Wednesday night against Dundee but, to be fair to the players, it can be difficult to get very worked up for a match where the opposition, as can be gleaned from the league table, is really struggling.
There will be those who say that such an attitude is a lack of professionalism but I have always found that the folk who cannot accept that players can have an ‘off’ night are living in a dream-world…It would be interesting to take a look in to see them at work sometimes?
Today, we meet another team at the wrong end of the table, with a poor display of stats for this season so far ;
P W D L GD Pts
(1) Celtic 32 21 9 2 42 72
(9) Hamilton 31 8 6 17 -15 30
From those stats, it looks like no contest. But this season, Celtic have occasionally showed an inability to rise to the challenge.
That figure of 9 drawn games in 32 matches is pretty high for a team at the top of the table; last season Celtic drew 4 in total. However, the colossal difference of the figures under Goal Difference tells a tale. The match is being played at Hamilton’s home ground but that should make little difference and it would be a major surprise if the Hoops failed to pick up all three points.
Only three years ago, a very similar match between Celtic and a side from near the bottom of the table took place at Celtic Park.
On this day in 2015, Celtic, sitting 7 points clear of Aberdeen at the top of the table, met Partick Thistle – lying in 9th place – in a league match at Parkhead.
The Hoops eleven was Gordon, Matthews, Denayer, van Dijk, Izzaguire, Bitton, Johansen, Mackay-Steven, Commons, Armstrong and Guidetti.
The reports suggest that Celtic were pretty comfortable the whole way through, although in the press Craig Gordon was credited with two great saves in ‘quick Jags’ attacks in the first half. But the penalty just before half-time, comfortably converted by Kris Commons, seemed to knock the wind out of the Thistle players, who were back in defence for most of the second half and it came as no surprise to the watching crowd of 43,784 when Stefan Johansen – captain for the night – got the second in 63 minutes.
Jim Craig
The Celtic support are known worldwide. Famous for being fiercely independent and faithful through and through. Here, at The Celtic Star we are overwhelmed at the support the site has received since we started our Obsessed By Celtic revolution in February this year.
A Celtic State Of MInd Podcast since it’s conception in a Dunfermline kitchen has also grown with the love and support from the Celtic support. The guests we have secured, interviewed and loved have been beyond our wildest dreams.
But that is all down to you out there, reading and listening and supporting independent fan media.
We now have a chance to show Britain that Celtic have a strongest and the best independent fan media in Britain. The chance to shout from the rooftops to all: This is how it feels to be obsessed by Celtic.
We are asking you to vote for both the site and the podcast in The Football Blogging Awards. We are asking you to take one minute of your time to vote for The Celtic Star as Best New Football Blog and A Celtic State Of Mind as Best Football Podcast.
Voting is easy. Click the graphic below, then in the Best New Football Blog Category enter @celticstarmag and in the Best Football Blog Category enter @celticstarpod
Vote for both at the same time.
Or vote via twitter by copy and pasting the following into a tweet:
I am voting in @theFBAs for @celticstarpod in the category #FBApodcast #FBAs
and
I am voting in @theFBAs for @celticstarmag in the category #FBAnewblog #FBAs
Please send individual tweets for both categories otherwise your vote won’t count.
Thanks for voting!